Hurricane Idalia: Crystal River drying out, cleaning up after widespread flooding

CRYSTAL RIVER — Citrus County Fire Rescue Chief Craig Stevens had seen this type of community-paralyzing flooding before.

Thirty years ago, the unnamed March 1993 “Storm of the Century,” crashed into Florida’s Nature Coast with wind gusts topping 90 mph and up to 12 feet of storm surge, according to National Weather Service records.

Thirteen people drowned, and an F2 tornado killed three people in Chiefland.

But on Thursday, Stevens, who was working as a volunteer firefighter on an airboat in the aftermath of that historic storm 30 years ago, exhaled in relief that Hurricane Idalia's floodwaters and wind gusts didn't exact such a heavy toll on residents of this region.

First-responders, the previous day, rescued 76 people across Citrus County in Idalia's wake -- including personnel with CCFR, Crystal River Fire Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida National Guard and Florida Forest Service.

“This time, thankfully, everything lined up. We had the resources. The weather had already passed us. And it was daylight," Stevens said. "So those three things make a big difference."

More: Clean up begins after Hurricane Idalia ran sacks the state.

Hurricane Idalia came ashore Wednesday with 130 mph winds that tore roofs from homes, downed power lines, and flooded roads with rain and surging storm water. It disrupted electrical service to more than 425,000 households when it battered the state with sustained winds of more than 60 mph for six hours Wednesday. But so far, few deaths have been attributed to the storm despite the fears leading up to its highly anticipated landfall.

By Thursday morning, Idalia’s rampant flooding that swamped downtown Crystal River and surrounding neighborhoods receded, leaving behind small watery areas, vegetative debris and dozens of business owners who launched an array of cleanup campaigns.

David and Mary Kate Norrie’s vacation home in Crystal River filled up with two feet of smelly floodwater and soggy leaves after Hurricane Idalia struck, forcing him to bail out his recessed living room Thursday using a sump pump.

“All the kitchen cabinets got wet, so they’re starting to fall apart. All the doors are ruined. The baseboard’s all ruined. Dishwasher’s ruined,” Norrie said, rattling off an cursory list of damages. “Washer and dryer got water in the motors — they’ll be ruined."

Now, the Dunnellon couple plans to demolish their waterlogged house near Hunter Springs Park and build a new one at the site atop stilts – “we’re unfortunately the lowest house on the street,” David Norrie said.

“It’s disheartening to go in there and see the place like that," he said. "Leaves everywhere inside. Just pretty much destroyed inside. But you’ve just got to muscle through it. Clean it up."

Worsening matters, they no longer have flood insurance. Norrie said his former carrier dropped their policy in April.

“That’s just crazy,” he said.

More: 'Gone in a flash': Steinhatchee residents cope after Idalia devastates Big Bend towns

Elsewhere, Explorida Adventure Center employee Gloria Witkus sat in a wicker chair holding a clipboard amid a still-wet expanse of flooring in her cleared-out showroom.

“This is my office,” she said as she answered calls from customers who were canceling manatee snorkeling and sightseeing tours. From the back of the building, a work crew noisily sledgehammered ruined drywall in the bathrooms – two feet of water flooded the North Citrus Avenue nature tour company.

“We have cameras. I felt bad for the owner," Witkus said. “She could watch the river going right through her store.”

Explorida teamed up with fellow downtown merchants to rent U-Haul trucks and remove merchandise two days before Idalia swept past, Witkus said. “Most of the people here, it’s old hat. They know it’s going to flood. You’re downtown – you’re at the water level.”

“When you buy a home in this area, same thing," she said. "We make the big joke that the homes on the waterway aren’t that expensive. It’s the flood insurance that really gets you."

More: See Hurricane Idalia's path of destruction throughout Florida's Gulf Coast, panhandle

First-responders with CCFR still made their rounds Thursday, rolling slowly through through coastal neighborhoods that had been cut off from civilization by Idalia’s storm surge, searching for potential hurricane victims who required rescue or medical assistance.

“Every street that’s public, we’re going to go down. If there’s real bad areas, or if you can see the water line was really high on the houses, we’ll go door-to-door,” said Lt. Nicholas Faso, standing alongside the red fire engine, “The Screamin’ Eagle, specially equipped for urban search-and-rescue operations.

Faso said they discovered an unoccupied van in a ditch within the opening hour of their post-hurricane “windshield survey. To the south, he said a similar crew was unable to access some Homosassa residences because roads remained flooded by more than a foot of water.

Rick Neale is a reporter at Florida Today. He can be reached at rneale@floridatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Hurricane Idalia: Flooding 'old hat' to most Crystal River residents